Windhoek
For the first time ever, the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) will be held on the African continent. Permanent secretary in the National Planning Commission (NPC) Andreas Leevi Hungamo revealed this while officiating at bilateral consultations between the Namibian and Japanese governments in the capital on Friday.
TICAD is a regular summit that contributes to the facilitation and promotion of high-level policy dialogue between African leaders and Africa’s development partners – particularly the government of Japan – on issues pertaining to economic growth, trade and investment, sustainable development, human security, peace and stability.
The Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-VI) will be held from August 27 to 28 in Nairobi, Kenya and Namibia is set to attend the summit. “This symbolises the value and commitment the Japanese government puts towards achieving and building a solid cordial partnership with Africa,” Hungamo said.
He said the governments of Japan and Namibia have a long and tested history of cooperation in many areas of development and, therefore, it is crucial that the two governments are having consultations to review the progress of ongoing projects supported by Japan and to discuss the challenges encountered.
He said most importantly, they aim to assess whether the cooperation’s focus is still in-line with Namibia’s development objectives and priorities. Hungamo further said Namibia-Japan bilateral cooperation is focused on supporting the efforts of the Namibian government in the areas of health, education, institutional capacity building and agriculture.
He added that so far Namibia has recorded noteworthy achievements under TICAD in the technical assistance to the development of the Master Plan for Development of an International Logistics Hub for SADC countries in Namibia, and scholarships offered to Master’s Degree students studying in Japan.
TICAD was launched in 1993 at the initiative of the government of Japan.
The launch of TICAD was a catalyst for refocusing international attention on Africa’s development needs. Over the course of the past 20 years, TICAD has evolved into a major global multilateral forum for mobilising and sustaining international support for Africa’s development under the principles of African ownership and international partnership.
The TICAD process has five stakeholders, called co-organisers: namely the government of Japan, the African Union Commission (AUC), the United Nations Office of the Special Advisor on Africa (UNOSAA), the United Nations Development Programmes (UNDP) and the World Bank.